Line-counting attachment.



0. THIEME.

LINE CQUNTING ATTACHMENT. APPucATxoN FILED N0v.12.1913.

1,163,282, Patented Dec. 7, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

` O. THIEME.

LINE COUNTING ATTACHMENT. APPIICATION FILED N0v.12, 19137.

Patented Dec. 7, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT or i OTTO THIEME, OE ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIG-NOR TO MOON-HOPKINS BILLING MACHINE COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

LINE-COUNTING ATTACHMENT.

Specieation'o Letters Patent.

Patented Dec.. V?, T515.

fo all 007mm 'it mag/concern Be it known that I, OTTO THTEME, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and uset'ul Improvement in Line-Counting Attachments, ot' which the following is a Tull, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying draw ings, forming part ot' this specication, in which Figure l is a perspective view illustrating a method of attaching my improved counting device to a billing machine, and showing the operating connections thereoi.v Fig. Q is a front elevation of the counting device with the bell removed. Fig. 3 is a front elevation with the bell and hoop removed. Fig. 4f is a rear elevation. Fig. 5 is a cross section on line 5 5 ot Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail.

rlhis invention relates broadly to registers,

and specilically to a form of register adapted to be used with writing machines.

It is designed particularly7 for the purpose et registering the line spacing operations ot a typewriting machine ora calculating machine, and for indicating when a predetermined number of such operations have been eiifeeted.

The broad purpose of my invention is to provide a. counting mechanism capable of registering successive operations ot a. mechanism, and which is capable of being set variably so as to indicate when any selected predetermined number of operations have been performed, and means for operating such mechanism from various keys of a billing machine.

The particular object of my invention is to pro,vide a counter of the sort described which is accurate and certain in all et its operations and which is simple and durable in its construction.

Anotherob'biect ot my invention is to provide in such a device an alarmV mechanism which will lsuitably 'indicate to theoperator when the i'njedetermined operations of the machine have been performed.

Another object otmy invention is to provide in such av device a means whereby the counter may be returned to lzero or starting position independently oflany operation ot the machine to which it is applied.

A further Aobject of my invent-ion is to provide an improved connecting arrange ment whereby the counting mechanism may be operated from any of a plurality of keys independently of operation of the others ot such keys adapted to operate the counting mechanism.

Other and further objects of my invention will be obviousfrom an understanding ot the mechanism shown in the drawings.

In the use ot typeivriting machines, billing machines, or computing machines, itis desirable frequently that the operator know when a predetermined number ot items has been listed, a i'nedetermined number ot' amounts inserted in the machine, or a predetermined number ot lines has been jvritten. In the modern billing or computing machines, the line spacing operation of the paper upon which the amounts or items are printed is generally effected Iupon each operation ot the machine through suitablel mechanism,

motor operated, and controlled by a key in the keyboarchcommonly known as a motor key. In some machines, the operation ot the line spacing mechanism is also effected in connection with the operation o'tcarriage return mechanism. In my copending application No. Gel-2,888, tiled August 7, 1911, I have shown a mechanism wherein the line spacing function is exercised in conjunction with the carriage return operation, and in .Y

my copending application No. 7 01,518, tiled J une 4, 1912; and the copending application of William Vooley, No. 701,787, tiled June 5, 1912, are shown a mechanism in which the operation of the motor-operated mechanism of the machine, to wit, the calculating and Y number printing mechanism, is controlled in conjunction with the carriage return and line spacing mechanism illustrated in the first mentioned application, by niea'ns o1 a single key. The device which I claim my invention in this application is designed particularly for use in conjunction with any oi the. mechanisms illustrated and described in the applications above mentioned.

'pona suitable support 1 is mounted a stud 2 upon which is carried-a disk which l is adapted to rotate thereon' under the iniuence of a suitablewatch spring 5. The

disk 4 is provided Withperipheral ratchet teeth 6 and carries projecting toward supl link 20, and a second arm of lever 8-carries feeding paWl 9 which is spring pressed soas normally to engage the ratchet teeth 6. Oscillation oflever 8 against the tension of ,spring Sag-causes-disk 4 to be rotated in a direction counter-clockwise as the parts are shown 1n F lgs. 2 and 3, one tooth or step `at each operation.v A means is provided for holding disk 4 in any advanced position against the tension of spring 5 and this means/consists in the holding pawl 10 which is pivoted on support and is spring pressed so, as to engage the ratchet teeth 6.' On support 1 is mounted a releasing member in the form of a sliding plate 11, movement of which is controlledby a dog 12-as hereinafter eXplained. Sliding plate 11 carries pins 14, 15 and 16 which project through slots in support 1. Pin 14 lies in the path of. stud 7, While pin 16`is adapted .to engage the tail' end of pawl 10. Pin 15 is a means of: attachment for a spring 13,v which tends to draw plate 11 tothe right` asshoWn in Fig. 2. When sliding plate 11 is in normal position, pin 16 has no effect upon paWl 10, but when sliding plate 1 1 is slid in a left- Ward direction pin 16 willV be moved so that the latter Will cam pavvl4 10 out of engagement with disk 4.

The feeding pawi 9 is ,Often @rank Shape and a stationary pin coperates With the `rea/r` arm thereof to rock said paWl out of engagement .with disk 4 upon'the upvvard or. retracting stroke of. lever 8. Feeding Paw] 9 also fhas 'a' hook on --the rear arm thereof Which coperates With ,pin 3 to' prevent overthrow of lever 8 and disk 4. When -pavvl 10 is ca'mmed out of engagement with disk/"4 said disk ivill be'retained by pavvl 9 until said-'pawl 9 1s cammed out of engage-` ment therewith-. .by`its contact Withi pin 3 upon theneXt retracting-.movement of lever 8. Upon being thus released 4by-'pavvl 9,'

disk 4 Will return to fnormal or starting position under the influence of spring 5, be-

fingstoppedbyl the engagement of stud 7 with pm 14. V

As illustrated in Fig. 4 sliding plate 11 is provided with notch 11a and carries projecting pin 11b. Dog 12 which is spring pressed into engagement with sliding plate 11 is primarily for the purpose of holding sliding plate 11 in its leftvvard position during the time that disk 4 is returning to starting position after having been released by leftward movement of plate"11 as just described. Dog 12 is controlled in its operation bya `pin 12a carried on the third arm of lever 8. '70

ZhenL sliding plate 11 is slid leftwardly in 'the manner hereinafter descibed,dog 12 drops intonotch 11a and holds said plate 11 inthe leftward position, in which position :'pavvl 10 is held out of engagement with disk 75 4. Upon the subsequent operation'oflever 8 pin 12a coperating With the rear end of d og 12 lifts `the dog outv of notch 11 and permits plate 11 to return to normal ,position under* the vinfluence of spring 13; From this description, it will be seen' that during the oscillations of lever 8, disk 4 will be pro-v gressively rotated until sliding-plate. 11 is .moved soas 4to release disk4 whereupon it returns to normal position. g5

The means for operating sliding plate 11 .to-release disk 4, and the means for'predetei-mining the extent to .which disk 4 Will be' rotated beforebeing released consists of stud 2. Hoop 17 is provided with small pins' 18 which are adapted to engage in any of the ratchet-teeth 6, and hoop 17 normally is held in engagement with disk 4 by the pressure of' spring 19.

disk 4 by simply lifting it against the pressure of spring 19 and rotating it on'stud 2 to the proper extent. By the circumferential vthe hoop 17 which is adj ustably carried upon 9o Hoop`17 may be 95 adjusted eircumferentially with respect tol v adjustment of hoop 17 relative to disk 4 is 10G determined the position relative to pin 15 of a lug 24 projecting radially from hoop 17. Lug 24 projects sufficiently to engage pin 15, and 'by virtue of such engagement, upon the requisite rotation of disk 4 and hoop 17, V1015 slides plate 11 leftwardly in position to retract pawl 10. Thus it will be seen that the 'farther lug 24 is positioned away from stud 15 in a clockwise direction, when disk 4 is in normal position; the greater Willpbe 110; the extent of rotation permitted disk 4and the greater the number of operations of the machine necessary to release disk 4 to permit its return to normal. On its periphery,

hoop 17 is provided With a-'dial graduated 115A in space units corresponding` to the teeth in disk 4 and numbered to indicate the, number of operations which will be permitted vbefore disk 4 will be released. :The jnumber on the dial corresponding tothe number'of operations desired, is positioned at 'pin 15'or other suitableguide and the proper adjustment of lug 24. thus obtained. An alarm mechanism of Well known form is provided consisting of bell 25 and spring 12 pressed striking hammenx 26. These are mounted on sleeve 2 With pallet 27 extending in the path of a lug 28 carried .on hoop 17 Upon the prerequisite rotation of disk 4 and hoop 17, lug 28 engages 'pallet 27 330 causing hammer 26 to strike bell 25 which furnishes the desired signal to the operator that the predetermined number of operations `have. been effected.

A Ameans is provided for returning the disk to starting position before it reaches the maximum point of rotation for which it is adjusted. It is frequently desired to do this when a total is struck to finish a column of numbers, or on other occasions when it is desired to begin a new column. As shown, the mechanism for thus returning the device consists of the bell crank lever 29 which, when it is swung, b y its operating` member 30, engages pin llb and slides plate 1l into position to cause the release or"`disk 4. This lever may be operated by means ot a suitable connection 30 from a total key or product key ot' a"computing machine, or, of course7 from a totally independent key or other means controlled by the operator.

In Fig. l is illustrated various operating connections whereby `the counter may be operated from various keys in the keyboard of a billing machine. In the illustration l represents the frame ol' the machine in which are mounted the customary printing mechanisms.`

32 represents the motor key which operates to throw in the actuating motor so as to actuate the printing mechanism.

3L represents the carriage return key, operation of which as illustrated in my copending application No. 6425888, clutches the motor to the carriage return mechanism for the purpose ot returning the paper .carriage to starting position.

35 represents either a total or a product key7 operation of which positions certain mechanisms t the calculating mechanism so that a total or a product will be taken upon a subsequentl operation of the motor key. i

A shaft 36 is rotatably mounted in the Jframe l, and has attixed thereto the crank arm 3T. The end of crank arm' is pivotally connected to the barY 38 which bar corresponds to the rods 170 orBO'Z of the total or product keys illustrated in the copending application of Hubert Hopkins No. 310,739, and which rod is actuated by operation of key Actuation of key 35, by virtue ot the connection with crank arm 37, operates to rotate rod 3G. Rod 36 has keyed to it a .second crank arm 39 which is connected to connecting link 3l). The rotation ot' shaft 86 by operation of key draws link 30' dowmyard.y thereby actuating bell crank lever 29 which in turn shifts plate 1l. as above described to return the counter to starting position. The effect is that wheneve a total or product is struck the counter'will be returned to starting position.

Rotatably mounted upon shaft 36 is a sleeve 40 which carries at one end a crank arm 4l and at the other a crank arm l2. Crank arm Hlil is connected by link ll and bell crank to motor key 233 in such fashion that operation ot the motor key rotates sleeve 40 on shaft. Ib. Crank arm -l is connected to operating link :20 in snel: manner that when sleeve l() is rotated by operation of motor key 32 operating link 2U will be drawn downward to swing three arnlill llYlV S and advance the counter one step as her-rinber'orc described. The result is that upon each operation of motor key 232 the counter will be advanced one step up to the limit for which the counter is set.

T he bar -l of carriage return key Bil carries a stud JAS which cooperates with the bottom of the slot iu the upper portion of a slotted link 47. The lower end ot slotted link '-lT is connected to operating link 2() in such fashion that when carriage return key 34 is depressed operating link O will be drawn downward by virtue of engagement of stud -l with the bottom of the slot in link 47. 'lhe slot in link 4T permits of the operation of connection link 2() by motor key 32 independently of operation of the carriage return key, as the slot is of sufficient extent to permit link l? being drawn downward by the operation of sleeve l() and crank arm 42 without engaging stud 4G to draw down r carriage returnkey 3l. YAs a result of this arrangement ot part-s, it is obvious that the counter may be advanced by the operation of either motor key or carriage return key 34, and that it may be so operated by either of said keys without such operation aiiecting the otherot said keys. Furthermoreyiit is obvious that the counter will be released to return to starting position upon the operation of key representing either the total or the product key ot a lcomputing machine.

It is frequently the case in taking a total that the total key returns before the motor key returns.- The obvious result oi vthis will be.to perm'it link 3() to return upwardly swinging bell crank lever 29 back and thus releasing sliding plate 1l while dog 12 is held out of engagement with sliding plate 1l by pin 12a which is held elevated so long as the motor key operating link 20 and lever 8 is depressed. Consequently, when sliding plate ll is thus released, it slides immediately to its extreme position (leftward in' Figs. et and 6), and releases the retaining pawl l0 which immediately drops into engagement with disk 4; before said disk has returned to starting position. Thus it is obvious that upon the next forward rotation ot disk l, the full number of lines or items forwhich the mechanism is set will not 'be counted. As just explained, the reason for this stopping of disk 4 before it returns to starting position is due to the fact that slidev ing plate 1l is not retained Wit pin 16 in engagement with pawl 10 asutiicient length of time to permit the full return of disk 4 when the total key is released-before the motor key returns to normal position. As a means for preventing such improper action, I provide the restraining pawl 50 having the notch 50a which is designed' to cooperate with a pin 5l `carried on sliding plate 11. The rear end ofre'straining pawl 50 has a projection 50h-with which pin 12 coperates near the end of they downward movement of saidY pin. p A spring 52 tends to press tlie notch 50ZL toward the vpin 51.*l

The disposalof pin 51 relatife toI notch 11a and the notched portion 50Pof pawl 50 is'.

such that when sliding plate 11 'is shifted by the movement'of lug'24 with pin 15, the

' movement of saidplate is not'suiiiciento permit the engagement of pin 51- in notch a. ,Howeven the movement of vsliding plate 11 by bell crank'29 is of greater eX- tent than the movement of plate llithrough the engagement of lug 24 andv pin 15, and such movement of sliding plate 11 by bell' crank 29 is suilicient to permit the engagement ofl pin 51 by notch portion 50a. Therefore, it will be obvious that when a total is taken., theoperation will be asfollows: Depression 'of the total key shifts sliding plate 11 by means of link 30 and bell crank lever 29 to an extent suliicient to permit the engagement of' pin 51 by pawl 50. The subsequent depression ofthe motor key, which swings bell, cranklever 8, releases restrain-V ing pawl 50 from pin 12a and permits its dropping into engagement with pin 51.

l Sliding plate 11 is thus held by restraining pawl 50, even after its release by bell crank 29, until restraining pawl 50 vis cammed .out out of engagement with pin 51'by the pin 11a upon its downward movement consequent upon the return ofthe motor key. Thus it is obvious that dog 12 will hold sliding plate 11 to permit the return of disk 4 whenever the motor key returns to normal position before the total key, and that restraining pawlt50 will so." restrain sliding plate 11 whenever the-total key has been opv erated and returns before dog 12 is released by the return of the motor key. 'Such operation insures the invariable return to starting position of ldisk 4.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that my improved form of register is adapted to be adjusted so as to register any predetermined number of operations, and when such predetermined number. of operations has been effected to return to zero position automatically. Furthermore, that the register may be used both as a line counter and as an item counter, being advanced at each operation of the motor key, and being returned to zero or starting position upon operation of the I am aware that modifications may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the scope of what I claim to be my invention, and I intend that my invention shall be construed to comprehend all such structural variations.

lVhat I claim is: Y

1. In a counter, tlie combination of 'a rotatable disk, an actuating le'ver,'a pawl operable by said lever to rotate said disk in one direction, a retaining pawl adapted to retain said disk in position after such rota- A tion, a releasing member adapted tol retract said pawl to free said disk, and means operated from said actuating lever for operating said releasing means.

2. Ina counter, the combination of a rotatable disk, an actuating means adapted to rotate said disk in one direction, a retaining Amember coperating with said disk to 'hold it in position'when so rotated, a releasing member adapted to free said disk from said retaining member, means for returning the disk 'to starting position, means, fonholding the" releasing member in f` coperationwith the retaining member during the return of said disk to starting position, and ymeans pperated 'by said actuating means for freeing said releasing. means from said holding means. y

3. In a counter, the combination of a rotatable disk, actuating. meansfor rotating itin one direction, retaining means for 'retaining said disk in position after being so' rotated, means for =-returning said disk to'.

starting position, means operable by said actuating means for releasing said disk from said retaining means, and an independently operable means for releasing said disk from said retaining'means to permit its return to starting position.

4. In a counter, the combination of a rotatable disk, means for gradiently rotating the same in onedirection, means for rotating the disk in the opposite direction, aret-aining member cooperating with said disk, a sliding' plate ladapted to operate said retainingmember and operable independently of the same and means operable from said disk foroperating said sliding plate.

disk, means for gradiently advancing the same in one direction, independentlyopern able means adapted to release the disk to permit its return to starting position, and

-tuating member for .gradiently advancingl the same, retaining means for holding the of said disk when jboth of said means means operable to permit the full return operating simultaneously.'

7. In a counter', the combination of a movable member, an oppositely movable ac- `member in advanced position,.. releasing lneans fory releasing said movablemember position'to permit the movable member to the movable member.

return to normal, said holding means being operable by said 'actuating means to permit the retaining'means becoming effective upon 8. In/-a counter, the combination of a movable member, an oppositely movable actuating means for gradiently advancing. the

are

same, retaining ,means for retaining the movable member in advanced position, re-

leasing means or releasing the movable i member from the retaining means, a holding member for holdingthe releasing means in operative position, said holding member being rendered inoperative on the forward movement of the actuating means, an independent holding member operable upon the releasing member, said holding member.

being rendered inoperative upon the reverse movement of the actuating means, and

means for movin the releasing means for the purpose descri ed.

' 4In testimony whereof I hereunto' aliix my signature in the presenffe ofitwo Witnesses,

this 3d daT of November, 1913. s

. OTTO THIEME.

lVitn'esses:

M. P. SMITH, n M. A. HANDEL.

Copiesof this patent may be obtained for ve cents eachfby addressing' the Commissioner of Patents@ v v 4 t Washington, D. G3, 

